NANS Threatens Nationwide Protest over Killed Students

The National Association of Nigerian Students stormed the Garki vicinity of the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, on Friday, to protest the killing of two students of the Nasarawa State University.

The students were allegedly killed by security operatives during a protest over water scarcity in Keffi. Security operatives comprising soldiers, the police and Civil Defence officers, however, prevented the protesting students from trooping into the premises of the DHQ. The military authorities, however, allowed representatives of the students to enter the complex and submit an official letter of protest to the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim.

The President of the Senate of NANS, Mr. Donald Onukogu, who spoke alongside other students, noted that NANS decided to lead the students to a protest at the DHQ because of the shooting of the students allegedly by soldiers of the 177 Guards Battalion, Keffi. Onukogu called on the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of the Federation, Aloma Muktar, and President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that the issue was immediately addressed.

He warned that if the officer who authorised the deployment of troops was not produced, the leadership of NANS would not hesitate to call out Nigerian students for a nationwide protest. He said the slain students included a final year student of Geography, Mr. Usman Aminu; a 300 level student of Physics, Emmanuel Gyan, and a water seller whose identity he didn’t disclose. Onukogu said 12 other students, who received gunshot injuries, were receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Keffi.